Before the high-profile collaborations with celebrities, tattoo artists, and sports megastars; before the colorful, on-trend shock drops; and most definitely long before this crazy jewel-encrusted thing, the subversion weve now come to expect from Hublot was a whole lot simpler: a rubber strap, paired with a precious metal case. Thats it. Cast against a backdrop of current industry trends around casual luxury (to wit: omega jumping the shark with its newest gold Sky-Dweller on an Oysterflex rubber strap), as well as Hublots own releases from the last 24 months, the concept might not seem terribly revolutionary, but the watch world four decades ago was a very different place, where mixing precious metals with anything less than a matching precious metal bracelet or crocodile leather strap was a bit of a no-no. Celebrating its own art of fusion with that once-rebellious act, Hublot returns to those simpler times with a trio of sleek and limited new Classic Fusion XL watches on the eve of the brands 40th anniversary.Cast in 18k yellow gold and fitted to a black rubber strap, the original Hublot from 1980 exhibited many of the same lines and facets of the new 40th Anniversary edition, but the latters been upsized to 45mm, and is no longer a quartz watch - instead, its powered by Hublots HUB1112 mechanical movement. Lets not forget that mechanical watches didnt garner quite the same level of interest in 1980 as they do now among collectors and enthusiasts. Anyway, joining the original yellow gold homage, Hublot is producing two additional references as part of the anniversary capsule that speak directly to the brands currently most popular aesthetic: titanium and black ceramic. As faithful as it may be to the original, this new release is more or less a fully unplugged version of Hublots existing Classic Fusion, stripped of its dial elements and only available in one case size, while the aforementioned is available in a range of four sizes, running from 33mm up to 45mm. With only the applied Hublot wordmark and logo at 12, and the rounded date aperture (with matching date disc beneath) at 3 oclock, the Classic Fusion XL allows Hublots impressive multi-faceted and layered case work and cool strap integration tell the full story - one of a brand best known for its modern maximalism, despite minimalist origins as it sought to bridge the gap between luxury and lifestyle. And speaking of crossover, with 100 meters of water resistance, its absolutely a worthy contender in the currently white-hot luxury sports watch category.SpecificationsBrand: HublotModel: 40th Anniversary Classic Fusion XLDimensions: 45mm x 10.9mmWater Resistance: 100 metersCase Material: Choose among titanium, ceramic, or 18k yellow goldCrystal/Lens: sapphire front backMovement: Hublot HUB1112Frequency: 4HzPower Reserve: 42 hoursStrap/Bracelet: integrated rubber with deployant claspPrice Availability: Titanium (200 pieces): $8,300 | Ceramic (200 pieces): $10,400 USD | 24k Yellow Gold (100 pieces): $25,200 USD45mm is probably a touch larger than most collectors would be comfortable with, which is a shame because this is easily one of my favorite Hublot releases to come around in a long time. Sure, its not as fun as an anodized titanium pink Big Bang, or this murdered-out travelers watch produced in collaboration with Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto, but it feels like it would be a little less out of place in the everyday, and a more future-proof design-certainly a testament to how well the original has aged after 40 years. The Classic Fusion XL is also a cool reminder that Hublots been around for a lot longer than many of us might remember, while distilling the brands many calling cards to the very essence and taking us back to a very specific period in theuber-conservative watch industry where it simply didnt take quite as much to shock the world as it does now. Besides, thats what baguette diamonds are for. You can learn more about the Classic Fusion XL collection at hublot.com. [...]